From Willits (the snowbound Safeway), in southern California, I had a relatively peaceful, scenic drive with rain, not snow and clear roads all the way to Cape Blanco State Park, just north of Port Orford on the South Oregon Coast. This is not to say that the trip was uneventful; in fact I had my share of adventure and moments of excitement. First, on the last hill (4-mile hill) leading to Port Orford, I heard a bang from the motor compartment and lost almost all power. I didn’t want to park on a significant grade in the middle of nowhere to inspect and, since the motor was still running quite smoothly at idle, continued on in first gear and a snail’s pace into Port Orford. Under the hood, I noted right away that the cool air intake for the turbo had come apart at a sleeve. A young fellow came along (with his mother) and stopped to help. He confirmed my opinion that the separation of a 3” air pipe couldn’t be good and provided moral support while I put it back together. That done, I proceeded through Port Orford with all cylinders back on track and promptly got lost when my new GPS insisted that I take a turn some distance away from the actual Cape Blanco. It soon became evident that the dirt track I was on wasn’t going to the State Park but rather a farm. Unfortunately, I couldn’t turn around and drove up into a barn yard,
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| wider truck rails after trailer tipping incident |
There, I did manage to get myself turned but the angle of the trailer was such that its port-side wheels took a short cut over a bank with the result that the trailer had nearly tipped by the time I spotted the crisis in my mirror. In the end, I got extricated but not without damage. The tailgate popped loose; various bits of the trailer got scraped, a side light got knocked off, the front hatch is gashed and the truck seems to be 2” wider at its back end than it was before, presumably having been forced there by the open tail gate. There is nothing that a good tie-down strap can’t handle, so that’s the way that I returned home. Both these calamities, I handled without using any duct tape or gorilla glue, something of an accomplishment.
At some stage, while passing through the Founders Grove of California Redwood trees, I happened upon a display in which a redwood round had had plaques attached, attesting to the age of the tree. One of my photos shows a plaque marking a ring of this particular tree, that was growing in 1215, the year of the signing of the Magna Carta – that’s old! Other redwoods contained gift shops, residences and cavities
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| 300 plus foot redwood |
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| 1215 date of Magna Carta signing |
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| Cape Blanco Campsite |
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| The Crazy Norwegian's |
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| Cape Blanco Heads |
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| Cape Blanco surf |
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| Cape Blanco lighthouse |
Cape Blanco State Park Campground (N42 49.871 W124 33.011) may be a favourite – high on a cliff over the sea but sheltered from winds by a barrier of trees. The name comes from the Cape Blanco lighthouse that is nearby. This is the most westerly point on the Oregon Coast and has likely seen its fair share of shipwrecks over the years. For $16.00, Cape Blanco offered power, water, hot showers and sewer, except the sewer was closed for an indefinite period. Given torrential rains of late, it wouldn’t surprise me if the field was completely saturated. Heavy rains marked my stay and I discovered a few new leak points into the trailer that I hadn’t seen before. Out will come the silicon roof sealer and maybe duct tape at some dry moment. To sustain me after such distress, I drove the 6 miles into Port Orford on my day of rest for a chowder and Fish n’ Chips at “the Crazy Norwegian’s” (excellent place). As this restaurant was quite crowded, I shared a table with some local truckers and tested their knowledge about separated Turbo pipes. The food was great and helped to sustain me after my morning walk to the Lighthouse along the Coast Trail behind our camp area.
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| Port Orford fishing boats safe from Tsunami |
Following an enjoyable two nights at Cape Blanco, the next move was to Wood Village near Portland where the GPS spotted a Walmart next door to a Camping World store. This was the first Walmart in my experience to have “No overnight” camping and trucking signs in the parking lot. Naturally, I had to go in search of the manager to explain the benefits of being helpful to their customers but could only get as high as a somewhat grim-faced Assistant Manager who tried to pass the onus onto local bylaws. In the end, I think I managed to get the message through to the several staff assembled (it was a quiet, early morning moment) but couldn’t get Miss Uncongeniality to crack a smile.
Next stop - The Boardman Marina and RV Park (N45 50.731 W119 42.449). Located along the Columbia River Gorge, Boardman was a repeat stop from several years ago and a good launching pad for a day’s drive to the Omak Walmart. I was there for 3 nights. Aesthetically, it is very pleasing, being on the banks of the Columbia, containing a 5-mile paved bike path, hot showers, full hookups, trees and lawns for $21 per night. Interestingly, I found no trace of signs leading to this park, either on the Freeway (84), or as a “POI” (Point of Interest) in my GPS. This gave me a project, so one day on a windy bike ride, I popped in to the local C of C and had a long marketing conversation with the manager.
Minor damage having afflicted both truck and trailer, a momentary breakdown of the truck engine and nearly tipping the trailer over near Cape Blanco, one would think it time for fate to take a rest. Not so, because the next morning, in the Omak Walmart parking lot, I was greeted by a whirring sound but no movement when I attempted to retract the bedroom slide on the trailer. The equipment is under my bed, so I removed some panelling and took a look. An electric motor is attached to a gear that remains stable but runs along a rack that is attached to the underside of the bedroom slide, thus making it go in and out. The motor was fine, the gear and rack looked perfect but the shaft to the gear remained stationary. Since the space was quite restricted, I could see that help was needed, so found an RV Repair place on the Internet and phoned. It turned out that the owner happened to be in the Walmart shopping for a suit to wear at his court appearance later that day. He appeared moments after my phone call. I guess one might say that divorces occasionally produce positive outcomes. In this case, the two of us put our backs into pushing the slide closed, after which I went down to his shop in Omak, where they replaced a broken shear pin (similar to that in an outboard motor) and I was on the road by 9.30.
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| Kekuli Provincial Park |
Reckoning that It would be dark if I went all the way to the cabin, I stopped at Kekuli Provincial Park (N50 10.936 W119 20.514 El – 1355’), below the highway on Kalamalka Lake, south of Vernon. Less than two hours from home, this spot was managed a few years ago by friends, so I was interested to take a look. The host came along as I was setting up and advised me that there would be no water or dump station but that camping would be gratis - my favourite price.
Arriving home at midday on the 2nd, I discovered no massive snow bank in front of the gate and was able to back in to my parking spot under the trees.
The only problem at the cabin so far is that the water pump housing that cracked last Fall has to be fixed or replaced. The pump guy (Custom Pumps) lives down the road and now has possession. Hopefully, I will have it back in working order in a day or so and can survive the interim by using buckets for dishes and cooking. In a pinch, the trailer still has water for taking showers. Taxes (Internet) now have to be done, I shall be looking for someone to repair the expanded truck box, and the woodpile, as always, has to be replenished.
In a couple of weeks, following a two-year hiatus, I am going to strap on the skis again at Lake Louise. Having skipped last year, I thought that I had more or less retired from the sport but immense pressure from certain individuals is luring me back. Apparently, there is a lot of snow and, hopefully, I shall encounter one or two aging skiers that still remember me. The plan is to go out and visit my mother on the annual mid-May trip. Tony W. is coming to join us for a week on the Island, so I’m sure an active time will be had by all.
A couple of general factoids:
Distance Shuswap to Az in December approx. 2900 Kms
Distance Az to Shuswap via Oregon approx. 3700 Kms
Quite a difference that was reflected, of course, in fuel costs
The price of diesel ranged between different States and different Stations. However, an average US price might be about $4.20 per gallon, or $1.11 per litre if the conversion is done. This compares to recent diesel purchases in BC at $1.24 per litre – a difference of $0.13, or approx 13%, depending on whether one calculates up or down.
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